Taking Up Traditions for Justice and Democracy
Reflection and Community Meeting
to Celebrate Seven years of the Fahmina Institute
Assalamu'alaikum Wr. Wb.
Blessings of prosperity and tranquility to all
Ladies and gentlemen, honored guests,
First of all, let us give thanks and praise to Allah Swt, God who ceaselessly grants all His blessing to us all. May He also bless the Prophet Muhammad, his family and his companions, and all of us here.
It is a great honor for me and the entire Fahmina Institute community to have you all here to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the Fahmina Institute. It’s wonderful to be together like this. I’d like to express my deepest thanks and appreciation to all of you.
Honored ladies and gentlemen,
Fate brought the Fahmina Institute into existence three years after the Indonesian people declared their reform movement. The Institute was created to participate in, and bring meaning to, a new civilization that respects freedom, justice, and fellowship of humankind. The impetus to establish the Fahmina Institute came from our recognition that the citizens of Cirebon, and of Indonesia as a whole, needed to be mobilized and encouraged to redefine their existence as free people (fa'il mukhtar) within the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia. For so many years, they had no space in which to move. The old cultural system had created an acutely stagnant situation in which there was no opportunity for public criticism or critical thought – a dull state, devoid of any creative and liberating intellectual dynamics, which in turn led to ignorance and poverty. These are the two catastrophes that continue to plague the Indonesian people even today, on an awful scale.
Assaulted by this reality, the Fahmina Institute emerged, to raise the public’s awareness of the dangers of this ignorance and poverty. Human history, everywhere in the world, shows us that ignorance creates serious implications for progress toward the development of a better life. Ignorance also leads to a lack of awareness of the presence of others, in all their variety and diversity. When this loss of awareness crystallizes and accumulates on a massive scale, it can shift and become a source of collective hatred. Such a social psychology in turn fosters conflict and violence. And indeed, poverty is the greatest death (al faqr huwa al maut al akbar). When people experience poverty, they often find themselves trapped in situations where they are forced to reject the moral values upheld by religion, as well as social norms. Respect for others, and self-respect, is often sacrificed in the struggle to survive and keep one’s loved ones alive. Personal moral strength often collapses under the burden of the pain of poverty.
Respected guests,
Facing the social realities I have just described, what was, and is, in the collective consciousness of the Fahmina Institute? The answer is “Change”. Change is inevitable; the course of time cannot be resisted. It is a law of nature. An attitude that rejects change will simply be crushed by the forces of time. Inaction is death. And according to Fahmina, this change must be mobilized within and through the traditions and culture of the community. In Fahmina’s view, social transformation will discover its significance and effectiveness when it is effected through local and global traditions. Conversely, change will fail when it is divorced from its roots in tradition and history. These are the theses of the Fahmina Institute.
The first concept supported in this framework was to develop a religious discourse through a critical reading of the classical Islamic intellectual heritage. Fahmina is fully aware that it lives in a culture and community that adopts religion as its conceptual, operational, and cultural foundation. Cirebon, where our institute is located, has been one of the sources and icons of Islamic civilization in the Archipelago for many centuries. The region teems with hundreds of pesantren. Fahmina’s founders are also well aware that they themselves come from this same religious intellectual tradition. They are all santri, who have long been grappling with the scholarly traditions of classical Islam in the pesantren educational centers. Facing this intellectual and social responsibility, Fahmina believes that religion must be a resource that enlightens and mobilizes society, not a force that cripples and enslaves. The classical intellectual inheritance must be explored and critically analyzed to discover pearls of religious doctrine that will enlighten and empower the community.
Beyond that, this entire exploratory movement, this religious discourse and search that enlightens, empowers and sharpens society’s intellect, must then be directed toward the achievement of a just and democratic life. These two central themes are the highest aims of religion and humanity, at all times and in all places. Justice is the pillar that upholds heaven and earth. I’d like to quote one of the most interesting statements of the classical Islamic thinker Abu Bakar al Razi: “The highest aim, for which we were created and toward which we are directed, is not mere happiness or physical pleasure, but rather the attainment of knowledge and the practice of justice.” I’d also like to present the thesis of Ibnu al Qayyim al Jauziyah, who said, “It is illogical if Islam creates injustice. If this occurs, then clearly there are errors in the interpretation and in the formulation of policies that need to be rectified.”
In the sacred texts of Islam, justice is discussed on nearly every page. This repetition of this theme shows us that it combines the moral and social values of honesty, balance, equality, wisdom, simplicity, respect, humility, and beauty. These are universal values, brought down by God as the foundation for all thoughts and practices in human life and civilization. The Qur’an emphasizes these values as normative obligations. At the same time, the sacred texts of Islam firmly reject oppression, tyranny, arrogance, subordination, discrimination, and all forms of violence for whatever reason. All these traits violate human rights. Thus, religion demands a struggle for and realization of two things at once: to create a noble and worthy humanitarian morality, and to eradicate all forms and practices of dehumanization.
In this framework, democracy must be the vehicle and mechanism to formulate the public’s ideas and wishes in communal life. Democracy must be a lifestyle and a way of life. True democracy requires and ensures freedom for each person to discover space to express his or her wishes in an atmosphere of equality and mutual respect. Freedom in democracy does not justify all actions without restrictions, nor does it mean acting however one pleases. It is not a concept of permissiveness. Freedom in democracy demands appreciation and respect for the freedom of others. Islam stresses that the diversity of human wishes must be handled through open dialogue, without coercion or violence. It must serve as the basis for competition in doing good deeds (fastabiqul khairat).
Ladies, gentlemen, and respected friends,
Those are the main concepts that Fahmina Institute has upheld during these seven years of its journey. “Towards a Just and Democratic Society” – that is our slogan, what we seek to build and offer. Fahmina is fully aware that these religious ideas cannot simply stop at the level of discourse, voiced orally through dialogues, whether in person or through audio mechanisms, or merely written in the various media it publishes. These ideas must also be the foundation for creative, operational work.
Over the past seven years, Fahmina has presented three main themes as its programs and operational activities: Islam and Democracy, Islam and Gender, and Islam and Strengthening Community Autonomy. Through these three programs, Fahmina has engaged in interaction and dialogue with potential and strategic social and religious elements, especially pesantren and other religious communities, to discover common solutions to the problems faced in the humanitarian issues previously mentioned. During this period, Fahmina has also assisted base communities that have been marginalized or crippled by the capitalist social, political and economic system. Fahmina’s solidarity in these areas is expressed by offering instruments that allow these marginalized communities to gain the necessary knowledge and awareness about their rights as citizens. At the same time, Fahmina also offers methods that enable them to manage their own potentials and to solve their own difficulties by themselves. Fahmina does not give out fish – or tempe.
Ladies, gentlemen, and all those present,
For seven years now, the Fahmina Institute has dedicated itself to join others in contributing to resolving the many problems that this nation faces. We all recognize that this nation is still trapped in a continuing cycle of crises, in an atmosphere of seemingly endless upheaval. The facts of poverty and suffering are plain for all to see. So many parents are weeping because their children have to drop out of school, or because they are forced to allow their daughters to go work abroad, unequipped with the necessary knowledge. Before our eyes are the realities of violence against women and children, through many methods. And recently there has emerged violence, abuse, and expulsion of groups of citizens, in the name of God and religion. Yet the Prophet was not sent to curse others, to insult and abuse, but rather to spread love, compassion and gentleness. Today, Indonesia’s diversity is being disrupted; indeed, it is threatened. Meanwhile, in another aspect of society, we find the reverse situation. A small minority of Indonesians, through the authority they possess, are robbing millions of others of their right to livelihood. The injustice and inequality is so blatant. A tiny elite of Indonesians are cutting down the trees that belong to the entire nation. They unashamedly display their greed. Inevitably, the seven earths suddenly split open and swallow again, the seven seas roil and seethe, the seven heavens rumble and collapse. Nature is in upheaval, destroying everything.
It is our religious, patriotic and humanitarian duty to collectively seek a way out of this endless cycle of crises, upheavals and injustice. We are all obliged to stop the cycle of suffering that affects millions of our fellow citizens, to end the imbalances in human relations. And the only way to do this is to uphold justice and democracy, now and in the future. Justice must be upheld, though the seven heavens may fall.
Honored colleagues,
At the end of this speech reflecting of seven years of Fahmina, on behalf of the Policy Board and the Executive Board of Fahmina Institute, I wish to express our tremendous thanks and appreciation to all our friends and partners, the heads of pesantren, government officials in the regencies and cities throughout the former Residency of Cirebon, the leaders of social, political, and religious institutions, and our colleagues in non-governmental organizations throughout Indonesia, for your sympathy, support, and cooperation these past seven years. We would also like to express our thanks and appreciation to the Indonesian Department of Religious Affairs, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the West Java Provincial Government, Partnership, The Asia Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The Wahid Institute, TIFA, LP3ES, NZ, and others too numerous to mention here, for your cooperation in supporting our work, both morally and financially. We sincerely hope that the cooperation and fellowship that we have created together in this warm and intimate atmosphere will continue long into the future. We hope for many more opportunities for us to work together designing a visionary concept more relevant to Indonesia’s future.
I must also not neglect to apologize to you all for any weaknesses and errors, whether in the framework of our cooperation or at this happy event.
In closing, allow me to read you a poem by Abu al 'Aina:
النصح ارخص ما باع الرجال فلا | تردد على ناصح نصحا ولا تلم | |
إن النصائح لا تخفى منا هجها | على الرجال ذوى الالباب والفهم | |
إذا كنت ذا رأى فكن ذا عزيمة | ولا تك بالترداد للرأى مفسدا | |
فإنى رأيت الريث فى العزم هجنة | وإنفاذ ذى الرأى العزيمة أرشدا |
Speak nakedly about us
Just say it, no matter how bitter
For talk is cheap
The intellectuals know
How to speak wisely
If you have ideas or criticisms
Put them forward; do not hesitate
To give us your ideas, your wise critiques
So we can move freely, swiftly
In well guided style and struggle
Wassalamu'alaikum Wr. Wb.
Cirebon, 19 January 2008
Husein Muhammad
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